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Girls hockey: Irish fall to ranked foes

The Rosemount girls hockey team managed to lose to the ninth-ranked team in Class 2A twice last week -- and it played two different teams.

The Irish were shut out 4-0 by then-No. 9 Lakeville South at home last Tuesday night. By Saturday afternoon Eagan had taken over the No. 9 spot -- thanks to a head-to-head win over the Cougars a week earlier -- and the Wildcats continued to roll with a 7-1 romp over the Irish at Rosemount Community Center.

Eagan pulled away during a five-goal second period where it outshot Rosemount, 24-4. The Irish scored the first goal of the period on the power play when Lauren Riley found the net on an assist from Kendra Goodrich to tie the score at 1-1, but the Wildcats answered with five goals in nine minutes to take control.

The visitors finished with a 49-14 advantage in shots on goal. Caitlin Dantzscher finished with 42 saves.

The Irish saw their three-game unbeaten streak come to an end as they were shut out for the third time this season -- and the second time by Lakeville South -- last Tuesday.

The Cougars took control early, scoring three goals on eight shots in the first period.

Dantzscher stopped 16 of 17 shots after that and finished with 21 saves.

The Irish, now 7-13-3 overall and eighth in the 10-team South Suburban Conference, close out the regular season this week with a road game at Eastview Tuesday and a trip to Bloomington Kennedy Saturday afternoon. The Section 3AA tournament begins Feb. 6.

Matt Steichen has been the sports editor at the Farmington Independent and Rosemount Town Pages since 2007. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. He has previously been a sports writer at the Sioux City Journal and Le Mars Daily Sentinel and the sports editor at the Austin Daily Herald.